How to use public transit in Cairo, part two: buses

The inside of a public bus in Cairo. This particular bus goes from downtown to the Cairo Airport and costs 10 Egyptian Pounds, or about 50 cents.

Note: Some images used in this post are Creative Commons Licensed. Click on each image, and each CC image links to a website to review its license.

In part one of this blog post we covered travel on the speedy and reliable Cairo Metro. For those travelers who need to go to more destinations than the metro offers, and for those who are up for the adventure and challenge, riding Cairo buses is the next experience to be had.

As a review: there are two major types of transit in Cairo: The Metro and buses. The Metro is very straightforward and the easiest option to use. There are four different types of buses and each has its own idiosyncrasies and norms, some totally different from anything we do on public transit in the U.S., but still usable by foreigners with a little gumption and courage.

In this post we will go over the four main types of buses travelers can take in Cairo, and talk about the specific need-to-knows about each one. If you want to learn about the metro or some general tips and tricks for taking public transit, check out part one of this blog post.

Like we said in part one, experiencing public transportation in Egypt is a must for any tourist wishing to get a glimpse of what life for everyday Egyptian people is like, but it is not an experience everyone should do. Public transportation can be very crowded, hot, and smelly (except from November-April, when the heat and smell decrease significantly). Sexual harassment of women could happen in virtually every public space in Cairo, public transit included, although it happens much less when traveling in groups. We at Egypt Adventures Travel are huge advocates of travelers taking the Metro or a bus ride as part of any Egypt tour, but we also understand that all travelers have different comfort levels.

There are four types of buses?!

Most U.S. American cities have one type of bus for riders to take, or maybe two--regular and express. Cairo, being more complicated in a lot of ways compared to the U.S., has four main types of buses travelers can experience. It may seem like a lot, but we’ll break it down for you.

Public Buses run by the Cairo Transit Authority

A red, public, CTA bus. Note the marquee and the yellow sign saying the bus number and destinations in Arabic.

These buses are noticeable because they are the largest public transit buses you will see. They are blue, red, green, or yellow in color, and always feature a marquee or painted sign on the top front dashboard and side window displaying the route number in Arabic (sometimes in English) and listing the destinations and starting/ending points for the bus.

A smaller Cairo public bus. These buses are green or blue, and they still feature signs displaying the number and where the bus goes (in Arabic). These buses do not have a back door, and they still give you tickets when you pay your fare.

To stop any bus in Cairo, try to make eye contact with the driver and hold your hand in front of your chest, moving it back and forth in the direction you want to go. If the bus is heading in that direction, it will slow, but probably will not completely stop. It is not uncommon to need to jog after a bus and hop on it while it is still moving in order to make it onboard. Alternatively, you can shout the destination you are going to (in Arabic, if you know the Arabic word), and if what you said matches the bus’s route, the driver will stop.

For large public CTA buses, enter at the front door, or the back door (if it has one), and pay the ticket seller sitting at the back or front of the bus, or the driver if you cannot find a ticket seller. Pay immediately upon getting on, or as soon as you can after boarding. Tickets are generally between 5-15 pounds, depending on how far the bus goes and what amenities it has (some buses are newer and have A/C and even WiFi).

What a ticket for a Cairo public bus looks like. This ticket cost 10 Egyptian Pounds, or around 50 cents.

When it is time to get off, simply walk to the front door and motion to the driver that you want to get off. You can try saying “All-uh gamb”, a common way to request to get off in Arabic. The driver will probably not completely stop, so when you feel comfortable, hop off, and then take a breath, and pat yourself on the back. You just rode a public bus in Cairo!

Microbuses

A microbus in Alexandria.

Microbuses are ubiquitous in Egypt, and millions of Egyptians use them every day to get from point A to point B. They vary in make/model: for example the buses by the Giza Pyramids are charming VW buses that would fetch a fortune if they were sold as relics in the U.S., whereas the buses in downtown Cairo are not as charming. Microbuses also vary in color, although most in Cairo are solid white.

There is an elaborate sign language that can be used to ascertain a microbus’s destination without exchanging words with the driver, but for our purposes, just use the instructions above for hailing the microbus driver.

You board microbuses through the sliding side door, or the front passenger door if you are lucky enough to score a seat by the driver. There may be some shuffling around in order to get a seat (solo male travelers, try not to sit next to women if you can), and you probably will need to climb over some folks who do not want to give up their choice aisle seats.

Once comfortably (as much as you can be) seated, take a breath, gather your senses, and pull a five pound bill (if you have it) out and tap the person in front of you. Tell the person your destination, and watch the microbus magic happen--your money will be passed diligently up to the front of the bus, where the driver will make the appropriate change (if applicable), and send the change back the same way the original fare came up.

The inside of a microbus…it can be tricky to get situated! Help yourself out by putting all loose items in your bag before boarding, and have your bus fare handy, either in a front pocket or an easy-to-access compartment in your bag.

If you are fortunate and able to board a microbus at its origin stop, you will need to wait for all its seats to fill before it will depart, but you will get to see the fare-paying process from the start. It is amazing that people on microbuses are able to keep track of everyone’s money, who needs what change, and do it all while cramped into a speeding van-turned-bus.

When it is time to get off, like the public buses, try saying “All-uh gamb”. The other riders should then part to let you out, and some may even get off the bus to let you out and then scramble back on before the driver zooms away. Slide open the door if it isn’t already open, hop out, and try to close the door if you can.

Large privately-run buses

A large, privately-run bus is shown in between a microbus and a taxi. These buses are allowed to pick up public passengers and charge a set fare, but you do not receive a ticket, and you pay your fare at the end of your ride, while exiting the bus.

The last two types of buses are not as common, but still good to know about for the Egypt adventurer who wants to try all that public transportation has to offer.

Cairo allows some private drivers to operate private buses on fixed routes and pick up the public and collect set fares, even though their buses are not run through the Cairo Transit Authority. These buses will often be the same type of buses as the green/blue public buses, but they will be painted white, red, or some other color that distinguishes them as privately-run buses. They also will not have any signage displaying route numbers or stops.

Catch these buses the same way you would catch a large public bus or microbus. During busy times these buses will often have a young boy hanging out the door shouting the destination and soliciting riders. This boy will also collect everyone’s fare, which is paid as you get off the bus.

Get off the same way you would a large public bus, by walking to the front door and asking to disembark. Pay the bus driver (if there is no boy collecting fares) or the boy at the door as you step down.

Suzukis

Suzukis come in all colors (red, gray, white, blue, green) but they all are the same size and they function just like microbuses in terms of how you flag them down, get on, and pay your fare.

Suzuki buses are the exact same as microbuses in terms of how to get on/off, how fares are paid, and etiquette. Suzukis will run routes that microbuses cannot, often because the routes feature very narrow streets. A route I often use Suzuki buses on is the journey from the metro station at Attaba to Islamic Cairo and Khan el-Khalilii Bazaar.

Only thing that might surprise you about a Suzuki is how to get into the back seat. At first, seemingly blocked off, the back seat is accessible by lifting up one of the bucket seats right in front of the back. Voila! Do this move to crawl to the back of a Suzuki, and you will be seen as a true Egyptian.

We hope that these tips will help and encourage you to try taking buses in Cairo.

Taking the bus, especially microbuses, can be such an exciting and rewarding part of your trip! Remember, despite how weird or different it may feel to use public transit in Cairo, just take a deep breath, summon some courage, and jump on!

What questions do you have about using buses in Egypt? What type of bus would you try on your Egypt adventure? Let us know with a comment below!